What Does
Cutterhead Mean?
A cutterhead refers to any tool, or collection of tools, on a common system that is used to excavate the face of a bore by being rotated. This term normally applies to excavation using machinery such as tunnel boring machines, horizontal directional drilling rigs and other mechanical methods of excavation.
Trenchlesspedia Explains Cutterhead
Choosing the correct cutterhead for the type of material to be drilled is imperative. Usually cutterheads are developed to drill a specific material type such as gravel, loose soil and sand, solid soft rock like limestone and other materials based on the cutterhead’s composition. There are, however, versatile cutterheads that are designed to be able to drill through different types of material in mixed material drilling.
Cutterheads may be steerable with the addition of liquid jets that emit water or drilling fluid to help the cutterhead travel in a desired direction.